BARACK & MICHELLE: 21ST CENTURY SUPERMODELS

He is rapidly becoming a fashion icon, a sort of 21st century standard-bearer for casual cool, but a guy who can also wear a suit in the classic tradition of Cary Grant. She is the definition of personal style and looks as ready for action in gym shoes and Capri pants as she does in a couture gown by a cutting edge designer.

Together or separately they’re easily too cool for school, as they say. If anybody can sell a product without saying a word, it is definitely these two. There’s only one problem. He is the President of the United States and she is the First Lady. And as we all know, while people in their position go political all the time, they never go commercial.

Until now. In New York this week, people in Times Square stopped hard in their tracks when they saw a billboard featuring President Obama modeling a Weatherproof jacket. Huffington Post reported Tuesday that Weatherproof purchased rights to the photo from Associated Press. The picture was taken when the President traveled to China in November.

The billboard comes right on the heels of PETA’s anti-fur ad featuring Mrs. Obama, alongside Oprah, Tyra Banks and Carrie Underwood. The copy reads, “Fur Free and Fabulous.”

So, how cool is that, that these two are using their clout and popularity to promote clothing sales and to stand up for the rights of animals? In two words – Not Cool. As if we haven’t dulled enough societal boundaries lately, now the first couple has become a sales tool. And to add insult to injury, neither of them authorized the use of their images for the sale of products or the promotion of social causes. PETA and Weatherproof each did this all on their own, without so much as seeking the approval of the Obamas.

Do we really want to see that much mixing of government and commerce? I don’t think so. It forces us to envision Nancy Pelosi selling Swiffer mops, or Barney Frank hawking condos in Boca. I’m telling you this: The day I see that whacked out Congresswoman Michelle Bachman in an ad for the America Rifle Association is the day I have to re-patriate myself to another continent somewhere.

There is no precedent for Presidents being used to sell outerwear, and there should not be. His job is to manage the system of government that allows for the free enterprise system. There are 300 million other Americans that Weatherproof can put on a billboard in the most high profile intersection in the country. Once we dull these lines, we open ourselves up to all types of complications. Less than ethical elected officials will be cutting quid pro quo deals with retailers and service providers. Manufacturers and other commercial entities will be working under the table with legislators to get them to push through legislation that is favorable to their industries. It is simply a design for disaster.

And what of the legal angle of all of this? Is this not a clear case of appropriation? Weatherproof clearly used Obama’s image for commercial gain, without getting a release to do so from the President. PETA used Michelle Obama to promote its cause, never seeking her permission. There are privacy laws in place in this country to protect high profile citizens from this exact thing.

Appropriation is clearly defined: Use of a person's name, likeness or identity for trade or advertising purposes without consent. Hell, Bette Midler sued Ford Motor Company for appropriation one time, when the car company hired a singer for one of its commercials, to sing a Midler song imitating Bette’s voice. She won. This is a tough law: Nearly a half century after Marilyn Monroe died, if you want to use her image to promote a product in 2010, you have to get the approval of her estate. Otherwise, you can be sued for appropriation.

The law is tried and true, and the fact that a retailer and an animal rights organization are thumbing their noses at it is a societal travesty. What next? Are attorneys going to decide they’re not well for the attorney/client privilege laws and just tell TMZ exactly what their high profile clients have to say about their cases? Are plastic surgeons going to dish to Perez Hilton about what their movie star clients had done to their faces? Where do we draw the line on who can use whom for commercial or social gain, while completely disregarding tradition, personal privacy, or even law? The Obamas are not Jon and Kate. The level of decorum afforded the President’s family is necessary in a civil society. The image of the U.S. has been roundly diminished worldwide – we just don’t need the President selling jackets on a billboard that sits on top of a Red Lobster. We just don’t.

THE 3 REPUBLICAN GOOFBALLS WHO NEED TO BE QUIET

Let’s just get this out of the way first – the goofballs alluded to in the above headline are consummate whack-job Michele Bachmann, the neocon congresswoman from Minnesota; the man without a verbal filter of any kind, RNC Chairman Michael Steele; and of course, the true face and voice of the current Republican party, entertainer Rush Limbaugh. (Bachmann and Steele are pictured at right. We've all seen enough of Rush, haven't we?)

You know everything you need to know about Rush. I’m not wasting bandwith on him. Let’s look at Michele, and I will now write the longest sentence I have ever written, a summary of Michele’s unfortunate views and positions: Michele Bachmann claims pedophiles are all gay; insists God told her (through her husband) to get a post-doctoral degree in tax law and then to run for elected office, and ultimately labels herself a “fool for Christ” and says she’s “hot for God” ; claims the current H1N1 virus is “interesting” since it happened under the watch of a Democratic president, just as it did in 1976 (although all historical records still agree the President of the U.S. in 1976 was Gerald Ford, a Republican); believes many members of Congress are anti-American; fears that the U.S. is “running out of rich people”; said in a speech on the Senate floor that carbon dioxide is a harmless gas; believes the government is trying to establish “re-education” camps for young people, to train them in the philosophy of the Democratic party; publicly referred to the late Terry Schiavo as “healthy”.

Can we all just agree that Michele Bachmann is indeed a nut? Unfortunately for the Republican party, she never stops talking. She is rapidly becoming a high profile face of the party. Aside from the time she said two lesbians blocked her from leaving a public restroom (I promise), here is one of my favorite Bachmann appearances. On Hardball with Chris Matthews Congresswoman Whackadoodle showed her full paranoia, naming Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Michelle Pelosi as “anti-American”:

One time, appearing together, Bachmann praised (?) RNC Chairman Michael Steele by declaring, “Michael Steele, you be da man.” Yes, she said that. And in fairness, Steele has almost courted that unfortunate image. Here’s a typical Steele response to a reporter’s question – this time it had to do with Republicans voting against money for a potential flu pandemic. Steele’s logic? We didn’t have any way of knowing there would be a flu pandemic, so why would we allot money for it? Evidently, Steele believes we generally know in advance when there will be a pandemic, or other national crisis:

Steele is what we call a “loose cannon.” The Republican royalty apparently did not expect Steele to be quite so controversial when they chose him, but he’s trouble. He spends a lot of time talking about things that have nothing to do with….well, with anything. Here is what he said about Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown: "I wasn't feelin' that. Didn't like the cut. All the little puff things on it -- what was that all about? She could have done a Valentino." Huh? And then there was this, in an interview with GQ Magazine: "I love to party. I love hanging out with women, sometimes more than men. You know, sit back and let your hair down type thing?" So 50 Cent,right? All of this, just as he said on CNN that he is the “de facto leader of the Republican party.” Seriously, does he believe that?

At a minimum, Steele does not display much of a sense of decorum. At the extreme, he is overtly partisan, prone to hair-trigger responses to reporters’ queries, and generally not a good team player. Some typical Steel-isms: One time, speaking to a Jewish group, he compared stem-cell research to Nazi medical experiments on Jews during the holocaust years. Oy. Another time, speaking of pending healthcare reform legislation, Steele actually joked about Senator Ted Kennedy’s brain cancer, saying the bill should probably be called the "Ted Kennedy Memorial Healthcare Bill." Ouch. There is more: In a party that does not pride itself on social change, particularly when it concerns gay issues, Steele has publicly stated that homosexuality is not a choice. On the other hand, Steele calls himself a pro-lifer, but has made comments that sound distinctly pro-choice.

The problem? Steele is not a politician, and in the Republican party’s current precarious position, they need a politician. The further problem? Steele is more focused on promoting himself than the party. He was a bad choice for the job. Nobody in the party wants to come out and say it emphatically, but in a year of particularly bad choices (Read: Sarah Palin) Steele may be among the worst.

We need at least a two party system. The competition and the ideological tug of war is a healthy construct for the democracy. People like crazy Michele Bachmann and Michael Steele should become Republican party reorganizational road kill.

And of course, I mean that in the nicest way possible. Uh huh.